Different Alternative
by BellaSakura1
Summary: Her last memory as 17, was a tender kiss to the forehead, and the smell of blood. She was soon sent to the past in order to change the future for the better. This time, she is 10 and back at the academy, with Kushina and Minato. Like hell, if they didn't get together, she would be damned. Time-Travel MinaSaku


**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! **

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**WARNING! Contains Spoilers, Gore, Language, Blood, and Violence! Read at your discretion. **

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A/N: Ohayo! This is my third story I am writing, and my second MinaSaku centric story I'm composing. I gotta say that I'm excited about this one, and will try to juggle between updating my stories. Also, I will be posting up some one-shots, about what? Sakura, and the rest you should find out! If anyone is interested, you can go to my profile and find my other MinaSaku story, "**The Burden Within Haruno Sakura" **I appreciate everyone's insight, so be free to review and such.

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She was falling. Fast.

The half-asleep girl was being rapidly pulled by gravity towards the forest floor of Konoha. She was only barely aware of this because she was a highly skilled Kunoichi. Sakura always had the lessons of a Shinobi grindeed into her head, to always watch your back and keep your guard up, even in sleep. Hypothetically speaking, skilled ninja could sleep with one eye open, waking up from a deep slumber to the slightest sound and movement.

Though she didn't even know that fact at the moment. She wasn't aware of who she was or how she ended up plummeting towards the ground. Everything seemed foggy, and it was frustrating, even at her state of exhaustion and being covered in grime and blood. She was certain she looked like hell as much as she felt like hell. Sakura wondered however, why she felt a strange tugging sensation in her heart.

'_It hurts...It won't go away...Someone, please make it stop.' _

The little girl pleaded helplessly, though no one heard her, as the pain only seemed to consume her sense of judgement and well being. Indeed, this was not the same feeling as with adrenaline. But more of the painstaking tearing of her chest cavity from a series of traumatic events she must have gone through, from what the girls' whimpers and her hands subconsciously clawing at her left part of her chest indicated.

She didn't understand, she hardly remembered a thing of what happened to her, let alone what her name was. The descending pinkette was more worried of the pain inside her chest, than the certain death that she would soon meet. This was because, even with no factual evidence, Sakura had the gut feeling that her life was empty, not worth walking onward anymore, no matter her young age. She didn't even seem her age, she sounded way too experienced and intelligent to be a fragile little girl.

Something traumatic had greatly affected her even when she didn't remember what it was at the moment. She felt the sudden death would be painless, compared to living with the gaping hole where her vital organ was supposed to be. Perhaps, someone had recognized her unknown torture and had tossed Sakura to her death. If so, she was in great debt to the person who acted out in a kind gesture.

She didn't bother to open her eyes, as she was attempting to contain the tears from leaking out of her tear ducts, which was becoming futile. The tears kept coming and making her face wet and colder than it already was. The lack of body heat was due to plummeting downwards, for what felt like some time now.

And the sun was making her eyes hurt, as the bright yellow circle was casting the light directly on her face. None of that really mattered To her though. The chary blossom was closing off the world she would soon leave anyways. Why did she feel content at the thought of a highly possible death once she came in contact with the earth? How was it, that a little girl of 10 could be this sleep deprived, malnourished, broken, indifferent, and so forth, without the slightest clue of what caused those things?

No matter she inwardly concluded. She figured once death came upon her, all her questions could be answered in her time of resting.

Instead, she gave into the need of sleep and listened to the calming spwhoosh of the rind to calm her and prepare her to die.

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The sky was beautiful.

A blonde boy with blue eyes strode through the forest of Konoha with his friend alongside him.

"Hey, Minato! My mom got me this new shuriken set!" The spiky-haired brunette exclaimed with vigor and glee. this made Minato smile at his friend's antics, before deciding to hit below the belt.

"You shouldnt get too excited, Kohaku. You have to watch out where you aim those things. Especially now, since you're blind in your right eye." The blonde added in a joking manner.

This in turn, caused Kohaku to jut his lower lip into a pout and his eyes to narrow at his best friend. The brunette had gotten into an accident several years ago, so now he was left with his left eye being a warm and cheerful amber hue, and he wore an eye patch over his right eye.

Kohaku was the easygoing and energetic friend, who loved talking, listening and making people laugh. He was also into his studies and made sure he worked hard with his training so he would be on par with Minato, who was also his rival.

"Hmph. Well the human body can adapt to changes. So my blind spots are being worked on." Stated the fuming boy.

Their musings, however, were halted when they heard a deafening sound near them. The wind kicked up as they fought to cover the debris from harming them. The two boys searched the sky and elsewhere once the dust settled, watching each other's backs. Then, Kohaku shot out his shuriken out of reflex when he saw a flash of pink falling towards the earth.

He didn't register in time that it was a little girl he had thrown his weapons at, and panicked once he realized his rash mistake. Minato, quick and light on his feet, jumped the short distance and caught the girl in his arms before the shuriken knocked at her already damaged and scraped skin.

He and his friend exchanged looks of worry and bewilderment. What could've happened to her for her to look like that? The air around them was mute and suffocating. The girl seemed around their age, and she needed urgent medical attention. Still holding the broken pinkette in his arms, Minato felt her stir a bit and cracked her eyes open enough to show him her emerald shade.

He swore he had never seen such drained and pleading eyes. But, looking at him, their emerald depths seemed to shimmer with shyness and curiosity.

Her voice came out in a hoarse, yet soft tone. Sakura hadn't remembered the last time she had water, or food for that matter. But she looked upon the blonde boy and had uttered a familiar name at him.

"Naruto?" She asked with so much hope and desperation to hear an acknowledgement from he boy who had saved her from her much desired death.

She vaguely recalled those painstakingly familiar cerulean eye color, and the spiky blonde locks of hair.

She still looked upon Minato, expecting him to say something.

He was taken aback by the desperation in her voice, the importation that this 'Naruto' was in front of her. She must've lost someone she loved. And he wasn't sure to accept her thoughts of him, or correct her that he wasn't the person she longed to see. He didn't want to deceive her, nor did he want to have to see her eyes lose their shine.

They started heading back in a run. The boy cradled Sakura to his chest, as not to drop her in his rush to get her medical attention.

"It'll be alright, just rest, please." That was what he had settled for, hoping the girl would drop the subject and let herself sleep, as she had deep bags under her eyes.

"I'm so glad you're alive, Naruto..." She misheard him, she was deceiving herself, as she closed her eyes again, and let the swaying motion of running soothe her aches and pains until she fell asleep.

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_Sakura was hearing things._

_But she was trying to sleep, they were being too loud._

_Once sleep wouldn't claim her again, she stood up and searched her surroundings. The voices were not far off, but the atmosphere had thrown her off. The sky was dark and thick clouds of fog and dust coated itself near the ground, with the stench of blood and smoke heavily invading her nose. _

_Her steps were cautious, so she wouldn't slip through the many building piles of tattered ground and other debris. _

_What the young girl witnessed caused a series of uncontrollable fat tears to roll down her face, as she watched the exchange between a beautiful pink-haired lady, and a handsome blonde man with whisker marks on his cheeks. The woman was pouring soothing green chakra into the man's body, shouting for him to stay alive and not give up. Her own power was depleting as the pinkette selflessly thought of sparing the man who was an important person to her. _

_Her shouts and demands seemed to fall on deaf ears, until Naruto coughed up blood and looked upon the love of his life one last time. _

_"S-Sakura-chan...there is, something I have to...do. Please...come, closer..." The boy was dying, it was his last wish, and Sakura complied without pause. She was thinking Naruto wanted to claim her lips in a goodbye kiss, but she was wrong. He placed his fingers to her forehead with utmost gentleness of a feather._

_The scenery started to dematerialize, their physical bodies were now within another dimension, the younger Sakura was warped into the welcoming bright yellow abyss with them, even when she was invisible to them. However, she already knew it was a memory she was starting to recall, as to how she ended up in her current state._

_The two young adults stood a few feet apart, without an injury on them. They were saying their last words to each other, before they would never say hello again, they looked upon each other without any restraint on their emotions that they were always taught to keep discreet. _

_"Naruto...I-" The woman began, but was quickly interrupted by the opposite person, a serious expression replaced his usual uplifting vigor. _

_"I'm going to send you back in time to fix all of this." He stuck to the basics, there was no time for empty words, he needed to be abrupt and blunt._

_The words didn't register to Sakura right away, as she stared blankly at first, then cast her widened eyes and tear stained face upon the last remaining person she ever had that was alive, everyone else had passed away in the war. _

_"...No...No..." She shook her head in denial. _

_"Sakura, you have to do this. Or else, there won't be a future, for anyone." _

_"But Naruto! If such a thing is possible, then why don't you go into the past?! You have a way of changing people for the better! You still have your dream of becoming the Hokage! You know as much as I do nap out this timeline, you could change the future for everyone!" She was hysterical. The tears were never ending. Her voice was high pitched and broken._

_"...I can only send one person back in time." He began as calmly as possible. _

_"-Then all the more reason for you to go!-" _

_"-No, Sakura-chan. You are the only person I have left, I can't live a life without you. You can do this better than I ever could." Silence followed, before the woman became enraged, clenching her fists and spitting venom. _

_"And what about my thoughts?! I couldn't live a life without you, Baka! There's no one else left with me either, so don't you dare think my thoughts are any different than yours. But, you're strong and could change the future." _

_"Sakura-chan...I'm already dying. I can only send you and you would be able to live, while I would die thought the time lapse between space and time. You are as strong and capable as me in this, except you will have a chance to live throughout the transport. Don't argue with me." He ended his statement in a tone that kept Sakura from saying her insight. Naruto came and embraced the sobbing girl and let her stay in his arms for a little bit. _

_He then leaned back to see her beautiful face, with the byakugou seal proudly imprinted on her forehead. She wasn't proud of it, though. She felt it useless, that even after gaining her full strength, she still couldn't stop it from letting people die._

_His face was smiling, as he gazed upon Haruno Sakura for one last time. His eyes held the softness he only had for her, he loved her, with all his big heart. _

_"I'll wait for you on the other side, but please, don't come so soon, for you are also my dream." He said, as he surprised Sakura by placing a chaste, yet meaningful kiss to her forehead where the seal lay. He stood back and grinned at her,_

_"Don't be so sad, sakura-chan. I don't like it when you cry. And this won't be the last time we see each other, so don't close yourself off to the world, and find love..." He was slowly fading away, and she was left puzzled by his words. But, he was already gone. _

_With another tear descending down her face, she said to him, "Thank you, Naruto." And she knew he had heard her, but didn't expect a response._

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The little girl was staring at a white ceiling, with many wires hooked to her body. The morphine was helping her with the pain, but it didn't last long, and she felt her eyes lose their color the more she recalled the events of the Allied Shinobi war. She was resting in the hospital, when she remembered it all. And what she must do, for the future of the nations and the Shinobi world.

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A/N: Whew! Done. So, what do 'ya think? Be sure to let me know what your insight is! Thanks!


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